Stressed over work? Here are 9 Tips for Solopreneurs to Reduce Stress

If you take a few steps backward and watch your entrepreneurial life unfold, you would probably see yourself taking the center of the screen.

In fact, you’d be in the picture for most of the time – no employees, no co-workers, only you, the solo hardworking soul.

Surprisingly, your audience will vary throughout the movie. A few strong supporters will take the front seat, woot and cheer you up, wave a couple of flags, and then leave.

Others may sit through the movie, only to yawn and distract you from your goal. In the face of your determination though, this class of folks will also eventually leave, just so that they don’t have to catch the finale where you scale your business up.

However, they’d be one member that will sit throughout your progress story. And, it goes with the name of stress.

Sometimes, it would take the front seat, looking straight into your eyes. Other times, it would sit at the back, whistling and disturbing your train of thoughts. That’s how most of a solopreneur’s life is like.

While other feelings may or may not make momentary visits, stress takes the almost-permanent spot in your journey to progress.

The survey confirms that 45% of the entrepreneurs complain about being stressed in contrast with 42% of other workers. At the same time, 34% of entrepreneurs also confess being “worried a lot” as compared to 30% of other workers.

Simple tips to punch stress in its gut

Running a business is not a child’s play. It puts responsibilities on your plate that nearly crack the utensil, leaving you to save the plate while juggling the responsibilities.

Consequently, you are left in the company of jitters, brainstorming sessions, sleepless nights, midnight coffee shots and not to miss – the uncertain feelings of optimism that have only a breath’s lifeline.

So, let’s throw in the towel, pack our bags, put down the military defenses against imposter syndrome, and go sip a mojito along the Caribbean beaches. An ideal life choice!

Except, by doing so, you are waltzing right into the arms of the devious plot that stress booby-trapped in the first place.

Instead, let’s walk you through some simple tips to beat stress at its game without rushing into the arms of a burnout:

1. Establish strong work-life boundaries

Leaky boundaries between work and personal life leave you disoriented in the long haul. You can only hustle for a limited time.

Once in a while, you’ll need a break to sit back and relax.

Think closely though – can your business breathe on its own if you take a few days of break just to alleviate stress?

Unless your venture has taken off already and is enjoying a stable flight in the air, your work needs your time and attention.

However, if you establish thick boundaries between your work and personal hours, you can better charge your batteries and keep up with your work with the same energy as day one of starting your business.

Pro tip: Establish a home office or work at a co-working space to prevent work and play from poking their noses into each other’s matters.

2. Read your stress out

Research conducted at the University of Sussex applauds reading for minimizing stress for up to 68%. In fact, it’s a champion at stress management in contrast with sipping tea or listening to music.

Therefore, dive into a fictional book. The key here is to read non-business-y books. This is because by reading a business book, you may end up working again.

In case of a solopreneur, the image of a coffee mug sitting by your reading chair and crickets in the background doesn’t last for long.

As an enthusiastic entrepreneur, you already know that the image painted above dissipates into thin air the moment an idea strikes.

Eventually, this pursuit for new ideas or work problems leaves you with less of personal time, which only aggravates your stress. This is why you need to read something that is not work-related to refresh yourself.

Pro tip: Switch between reading books from various genres including business and fiction. Bear in mind that picking something that you don’t enjoy is less likely to bust your stress.

3. Limit multi-tasking to de-stress

While most of us pride at our multi-tasking skills, science frowns upon us for damaging our brain and adding to the stress.

Although there is something supremely satisfying about multiple open tabs and a wide collection of sticky notes on your desk, they really are terrifying.

Talk about a sheep in a lamb’s clothing. Mounting evidence indicates that our performance takes a tumble when we focus on several tasks on one time.

David Meyer, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan explains this further.

He points out, “The brain is not equipped to do heavy-duty multitasking… People are being asked to do multiple things, but they would need superhuman abilities.” Put simply, you’ve one brain that can only concentrate on one task at one point.

As you push your brain’s capabilities, stress is bound to follow. In addition to the stress, working on multiple tasks simultaneously can take a toll on your learning, attentiveness, and mindfulness.

So, quit sending emails while researching for a project.

Pro tip: Only multitask works that are part and parcel of your routine. Plus, give full attention to complex tasks that demand focus.

4. Divide and conquer – schedule your work with breaks

If you lock your hands with work cuffs, your brain is only going to scream for breaks. Most of these pleas, however, fall on deaf ears.

The consistent dip into the work muck can slowly poison your health, both mentally as well as physically.

Since solopreneurs are fueled by passion, they may rarely note the negative imprints of excess workload.

To prevent the stress reserve from over-flowing, punctuate your work schedule with breaks. This works, specifically, well for those who work from home. Adding breaks to your schedule takes your productivity up by several notches.

Investigations conclude that the 52-minute-work and 17-minute-break protocol works effectively. In other words, you give 52 minutes of your undivided attention to your work minus any distractions.

You follow this up with a small break – take a walk, squeeze out some fresh orange juice, or attend to any household chores on your plate.

These breaks help to keep work-induced boredom, bad moods, and stress at bay.

Pro tip: Put your phone to silent and log out of your social networks when you’re into an episode of work. This will assist you in focusing on the task at hand.

5. Eliminate the extra workload by automating or outsourcing

There’s a 100% chance that you pride yourself in being a ‘solopreneur,’ one that handles all the tasks himself. At the end of the day, however, you’re a human.

If you squeeze in excess workload on yourself, you are only going to get stressed.

Two simple ways to prevent your turbojets from dying down include automating and outsourcing some of your work.

For instance, use tools to schedule your social media posts so that you don’t have to be logging in on and off between work to show your online presence.

You can hire a virtual assistant to take some work off your heavily-loaded plate.

Great tips! Especially the digital detox from social media. There are days, that I don’t want to open a social media app. I actually feel refreshed after a day of no social media haha. Thanks for sharing!

I work from home everyday and my pc has kinda become my best friend. Clearly, there comes a time I need to take a break from pc’s tablets, smartphone. etc In order to do so, I dive into meditation and read psychology books. Thanks fro sharing your article with us

This is such a helpful post I was working very hard on my blog yesterday and then starting having palpitations because I was starting to feel stressed this post is something I will def. follow the steps

This is a great post! It’s so true that entrepreneurs tend to be extra stressed–and who can blame them! It’s a lot of work to literally pull all the weight for your own business. Your success depends solely on you and the effort you put in.
Definitely going to be saving this to my blogging pinterest board. Thank you for the great tips!